Mekong Institute (MI) convened 39 government officials and development leaders to exchange good practices and lessons learned on promoting gender balance at an online training program from July 12 to 23, 2021.  

Supported by the People’s Government of Yunnan Province of China, the “Promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in the Lancang-Mekong Region: Sharing Good Practices and Experiences” program builds on MI’s ongoing efforts to broaden understanding of gender equality initiatives and implementation, such as applying the gender lens in planning and budgeting programs for more holistic impacts across the Mekong region.

This is MI’s fourth program on social inclusion in 2021. In this instance, MI facilitated discussions on initiatives by countries such as China and Thailand in advocating gender equality, women economic empowerment, as well as cultivating women leaders for fair political representation.

During the two-week course, participants from the ministries of women’s affairs, planning, international relations, foreign affairs, and social welfare and development, as well as several organizations advocating gender rights and child protection in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand also presented their experiences in establishing protection mechanisms against gender-based violence and efforts in institutionalizing responsive budgeting practices for the equitable allocation of public resources to systematize gender mainstreaming.